The New York Times reports that the economic crisis and U.S. election plus the endless number of sources of information about them—online and off—have people across the country "overfeeding" on news, obsessing about staying on top of the latest stock plunge or poll numbers.

Eric Klinenberg, a sociology professor at New York University, said people are unusually transfixed by news of the day because the economic crisis in particular seems to reach into every corner of their lives. Usually, he added, people can compartmentalize their lives into different spheres of activity, such as work, family and leisure. But now, “those spheres are collapsing into each other.”

The article explains that keeping up to date gives people a sense of control in a scary, uncontrollable situation; it also helps people bond with one over the latest crisis. Is your TV stuck on CNN all day? Are you constantly checking finance web sites and reading political blogs? Has it cut into your workday or family life? How are you dealing? Tell us about it in the comments.